According to Japanese financial analysis firm Ace Research, the Switch is said to have sold 7 million units between October and December, which adds credence to the idea that Switch has smashed through its predecessors lifetime sales entirely. Of course, this news hasn't been officially announced, but considering how well we know the console has performed in the East and the West - especially over the Christmas period in 2017 - such a milestone now seems inevitable.

Analyst says Nintnedo might have sold 7 million Switch units in Oct-Dec globally, which would bring life-to-date figure at more than 14.6 million. Nintendo reports its 3rd FY-quarter results at the end of this month. pic.twitter.com/qZGGWOKMpB— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) January 19, 2018

Let us know what you make of these unconfirmed numbers? Do you think Switch will/has beaten Wii U in terms of total sales, or is Wii U so out of date no one really cares about the comparison? Let us know!

Bearded malcontent Dom has been writing about games for so long he's practically forgotten what reality looks like. Over his career he's written for just about every site and mag out there. You'll almost always find him catching Pokémon or yelling at dragons in Skyrim.

The Wii U was a failure for Nintendo but I love what it had to offer. Wii backwards compatibility with the online Wii Store access, some great first party titles, and the best Virtual Console offerings around when you combined the two platforms. I know why it didn't sell well, the tablet controller was terrible for one but it was optional for the most part. It never was my favorite or most frequently used console but I love having one around.

That said the Switch is the best thing that has happened to Nintendo in a very long time. It deserves it's success.

All this success needs to translate to more games, specifically more exclusive games to grow the userbase even more. Nintendo needs to double down on the Switch and make as many partnerships as possible. Enough 3DS, Enough silly toys let's get this Train Going!

Had my Wii U since launch and felt day one it was doomed as I waited 2 hours for it to update. So many mistakes. The games all played it super safe (how many side-scrolling platformers do you need) The system UI was awful, it cost too much to produce and was under powered. Switch has been the exact opposite, loved it from the moment it arrived. It is great hardware, but more importantly Nintendo have put great adventurous games out that people want to play.

This doesn't surprise me too much to be honest, considering how successful it has been during year one. But if it is true than that is a fantastic achievement. The real question is, can Nintendo maintain this momentum going forward and also can they get more third party support?

I always felt the Wii U was doomed from before its launch. I'm still not convinced that long-term the Switch will succeed either. It will do well in places like Japan as it's a handheld. As a handheld it's taken a giant leap forward in terms of specs. We'll see. 2018 in terms of software isn't a patch on last year, as far as we know at least. I don't get the comparisons to Switch, well maybe, as it's the Wii U revised into a portable. But Wii U was such a disaster, I can't stress that enough, that Switch was never going to perform worse.

There's a lot to factor in when talking about the Wii U and why it failed. It's name, poor marketing, its weak specs, the fact that Nintendo had to choose to save either the Wii U or the 3DS. They couldn't financially afford to save both, nor had they the personnel. Nintendo will put everything into making the Switch a success, they can't afford not to.

@Rika_Yoshitake Exclusives would be nice but i'd be happy if we get a few last gen games on the Switch too, ones Nintendo have missed out on and ones that would defo benefit from being portable, the ones that come to mind.

GTA 5Red Dead RedemptionFallout 4Witcher 3 (i'd even take 2)Overwatch (if that would be possible)

@JayJ I agree. I have a Switch and love it, but I will never get rid of my Wii U. It is sticking around until it breaks. There are things it offers like backwards compatibility with the Wii(including the wii's virtual console and wiiware library) that will never be available via the Switch. Even if all of it's good games get ported to the Switch, some I will refuse to double dip on. Sorry, but I'm not buying Tropical Freeze again just get Funky Kong as a playable character. Same with Rayman Legends. Worthless double dip with that.

@Razer I hate being a "naysayer" but Overwatch has been permanently dismissed so no hope of that. Fallout or Witcher could be nice, though I doubt we could get Witcher 3 on there, so maybe 2 (devs wouldn't wanna downgrade that hard on a game like Witcher 3. Not to mention they aren't super good at optimization.)

Now Red Dead Redemption I could imagine, if they see enough of a point in porting it. GTA 5 less so, Nintendo's userbase typically hasn't been super interested in such games (Hence why PS4 is usually the go-to basic dudebro console for GTA, COD, FIFA and other basic dudebro games.) Could be nice with some more games in that field simply because it attracts a wider audience, but again, I wouldn't hold my breath. Nintendo will remain Nintendo xD

Personally I think the Wii U was a necessary stepping stone for Nintendo. Obviously the tech for the Switch wasn’t there 5 years ago, but the seed of the idea was in place. Plus Nintendo’s staff was famously unfamiliar with how much it took to make HD games, and they used the Wii U as a learning curve. Plus the reason the Switch has hit the ground running with BOTW, MK8, Pokken, Lego City, Splatoon 1.5 (wink wink), Bayonetta 2, DKTF and the Nintendo Warriors games is because they were brought from the Wii U- Even Odyssey started out to be a Wii U game. Plus would Nintendo have been so adventurous if it wasn’t for having their backs against the wall? BOTW was delayed to make it better so it wasn’t just another Zelda game.

Admittedly the Wii U wasn’t a success, but then failure is the Mother of Success.

Playing smash bros last night, I took a good look at the Wii U Gamepad. It's literally a tech demo for the Switch. And whilst the Wii U wasn't marketed correctly and didn't have the desired impact, it had some cracking games, which some of the Switch generation are now getting to play (I see nothing wrong with ports). It's great numbers for the Switch and the momentum looks to continue moving forward well into the next decade. Official numbers out on Jan 31st I believe.

Great, can we stop comparing the Switch to a massive failure now? Setting the Wii U as a benchmark was setting the bar pretty low. It's like starting a race and instead of wanting to place or do very well, your only goal is to beat the guy from the previous race who broke his leg twice at the start and came in last.
I'd rather see how it's sales compare to other successful systems.

@Rika_Yoshitake Nintendo already make their own exclusives, enough of their own IP's that 3rd party developers can concentrate on making decent ports while Nintendo makes outstanding exclusives, that will be more than enough to drive sales, unlike both Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo have enough of their own in-house IP's.

@Blizzia Witcher may be the only one in my honest opinion that you could be right about and considering we have doom on here with some compromises, i dont see why we wouldn't get Witcher 3.

As for GTA, i completely disagree, if the Switch sales pick up it will be going past the demographic of people you are talking about, in fact the handheld aspect of it alone makes that a given fact, the appeal of handheld GTA would far exceed any negetives to bringing that to your console.

Also one of the best original DS games was GTA Chinatown Wars, in fact it's such a sought after game that a new copy would set you back about 35 dollars - The demographic for GTA has always been on Nintendo.

Honest question though, why do you have such an opposition to ports when you don't have to buy them? I mean if you said "costs too much, will not buy" that's fair enough, but your argument goes one further than that to say they shouldn't be making them in the first place. Surely that's for market forces to decide?

@Jacob1092 I didn't say "they shouldn't be making them in the first place". I said there should be less and I said the price is too high for old games with very little work done to them. It's greed, all companies love as much profit possible for as little effort as possible.

I think we’re past the point where colossal unit sales figures are a good measure of the health of the system.

The number of games sold per Switch, how many hours they’re played per week, who is actually buying them, how they’re using them, which types of games they’re buying and the price they’re willing to pay for them are all now more important measures of success going forwards.

Now that it’s clear Switch has a large enough install base to be a viable format those are the factors that will most influence the type of games and the volume we get.

I used to say I was a "PC and Switch first" gamer, and a "PS4 and XB1 second" gamer. But if I were to be truly honest with myself, I am really a "Switch first, PC second, XB1/PS4 third" gamer. Or heck, if we're being super thorough, "Switch first, PC second, 3DS third, XB1 / PS4 fourth, Vita fifth".

I may appeal to the other systems for their manifold merits, but Switch has become center, Switch has become front, and barring extenuating circumstances, Switch is where I look first, and where the conversation begins concerning multiplatform games, even though the PS4, XB1, and especially the PC are all more powerful, and can provide better visuals - though I have yet to be particularly disappointed with any Switch ports that I've played thus far!!

There's just something so magical about this system! It's not just a console, it's a portable (and a tabletop - and increasingly becoming a tablet) But it's also not just a portable (or tabletop or tablet), but is also a console! And since the system performs at a higher spec level when docked - though the extra power is not actually in the dock itself, and most games take advantage of that extra power with enhanced visuals or whatever else, that console designation is not just the portable experience smeared on a bigger screen, but is its own actual experience! I'm not tethered to the couch, but neither am I marooned to the small screen! And I get specific perks from each approach! Nothing else touches that! And rare to never does the (only so significant) extra performance capabilities of the XB1 / PS4 ever feel worth surrendering the Switch's manifold benefits to have.

Maybe when I start deep-diving mods in PC versions of games, I'll go back to being "Switch and PC first", but for now, I tend to go to Switch first. It's the pocket-sized master of the universe!

Cheers!

p.s. even if PS4/XB1 rank further back for me, that doesn't mean I don't still want a PS4 Pro / XB1X, and with how insanely inflated PC GPU upgrades are right now thanks to all the cryptocurrency nonsense, I'm gonna live with my GTX1070 for now, and wait out upgrades next year's tax time. This year, then, assuming funds allow, I'll plan on taking the opportunity presented to pick up the Pro and (or) the 1X. Should be good times!

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Fair shout, I did infer a bit there But even so, if you're saying they should make less of them, that still implies you think they shouldn't be doing certain ports. Considering they're are usually outsourced or as you rightly say, take very little effort, their effect on the development of new games should be negligable. The reason I find your opposition to them confusing is because there's a very clear reason as to why they're doing it, that being that they didn't sell that well first time around because they were on a platform that flopped. And easy money, obviously I mean, if you were running Nintendo wouldn't this be exactly what you'd do as a business strategy?

@LemonSlice I had the same reaction to trounced. Eagles trounced the Vikes, Pats squeaked past the Jags. This is currently more of a squeaking than a trouncing story. Switch doing it 9 months vs Wii U 4 years doesn't make it a trouncing, trouncing is always about size, not time, I agree with your "blew past", but it might be a Brit thing. Or really a click thing, it's always all about the clicks. Then those of us who call out the click titles get called out for being pedantic. It's the circle of Nintendo Life.

I’d say what happened here fits that definition. If two sports teams are being compared, and in one game one of the teams scores as many points as the other scored in five games, I’d say the latter has clearly been trounced.

In a contest of first year sales and overall sales momentum, the Wii U has been trounced soundly. And unless Switch sales stop immediately and permanently, we’re looking at a massive trouncing in the coming years.

If true, damn. Can't say I'm not surprised, Nintendo certainly did a 180 and they don't seem to be stopping. On the negative side though Kimishima (rightfully) said 2018 is a crucial year but so far nothing big has been announced from Nintendo's side (keyword: big). Now I know the year just started so I'll gladly wait if we get some great games (certainly not talking Smash, rather if be happy if I get Smash and Metroid next year)...

My PERSONAL console ranking:
Gamecube
Switch
Snes
WiiU/N64
Wii
NES (Didnt grow up with it and there are really only the few games I would go back to play: Mario3, Kirby, Megaman 1-6, and Zelda 2.
Portable:
GBA (The gba and gamecube combo was so legendary for my brother and I at the time)
Switch
Ds
GB/C (Didnt grow up with it and only played all the Zelda games and kirby games.)

@chiptoon that and that Wii U had its launch games ...and then nothing for 8 months which absolutely killed any momentum it might have had at the beginning (Wii U initially actually sold better than Switch in Japan).

I love my Wii U minus the dumb gamepad gimmick. I truly believe the system would have sold FAR better had they - dropped the gamepad allowing them to sell the system for cheaper, picked a different name something like "Super Wii", and marketed the system towards ALL ages not just children.

Part of that was the order in which the big games arrived. Had Wii U launched with MK8 and Super Mario Maker it might have been a very different story.

If Nintendo has taken just one lesson from the Wii U it seems to have been ‘get your biggest, longest lasting, most evergreen titles out straight away before getting more esoteric or niche things like Nintendo Land or Game & Wario or even Pikmin’.

@Blizzia Activision is all about money. Blizzard can attempt to dismiss a lot of things, but in the end Activision will be the driving force in that relationship. If they feel like Overwatch will sell on the switch, especially with cross-play to PC and XBone, it's likely to get a port.

I'd doubt Blizz would do a bad port, which may be why they say it's off the table, but again, Activision likes money.

Wouldn't be surprised, with Nintendo's momentum in 2017 the only thing that would've prevented this is stock issues. The big test for Nintendo this year is making sure the paid online service doesn't slow the momentum.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE if it isn’t worth it to you don’t get it. I had dkc tf on Wii U and loved it but will still get this to have one of the best platformers ever portably. The value is worth it to me. If it isn’t to you then pass on it.

@admwllms It doesn't need to do the numbers you think it does necessarily. Keep in mind it's not uncommon for consoles themselves to be sold at a loss, so it's really the software where they make their money. If they can get as much software on Switch as the 3DS and Wii U libraries combined, then they might make more even if they don't sell as many Switches as 3DSes. Though... I think they probably will. At the very least, it'll be close.

@link3710 Yeah I guess i was thinking that they'd have to equal both numbers combined to equal the profit but of course that's not the case, totally depends on parts, how much profit per unit and software as you say - good point.

However great the numbers may be, I assume they'll be even more impressive once the (ex-)handheld game lineup gets to the system.

In the Switch's 1st year, Nintendo focused on its big home console game series, which is fine and all but doesn't mean too much to what I assume is millions of 3DS users -like myself- looking to upgrade. Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem etc is what (part of) this market is waiting on and, personally speaking, I'm not in a huge hurry to make the switch until those games start rolling out. Plus, it's very expensive for a portable+ system (which it'll be <for me>) so that's another reason I don't mind waiting so far.

My point being, a comparison to the Wii U is always made in these articles but what's neglected is that the Switch is for all intents and purposes the 3DS successor as well; it has a lot more to live up to (which I expect it will).

no way tropical freeze is that cheap on the wii u surely. Saying that it maybe a great time to invest and collect wii u games as like the gamecube lots of the games go for huge prices as they are harder to find unlike most ps2/xbox games at the time in that era.

@JayJ Agree, I loved my Wii U. Sure it wasn't a home-run for Nintendo, but it offered a lot of great content and services. And when you think about it, it did a lot that Switch hasn't (streaming apps, Virtual Console, a fully-integrated social media experience, etc). In fact, my favourite thing about Wii U was in the game Windwaker HD and using the Tingle Bottle system where we could get images of things we may have missed up on Miiverse to help complete our Nintendo Gallery. I was really sad when Miiverse got shuttered because there were still items for my Nintendo Gallery I missed early on in the game that now I'll never be able to get. I hope Nintendo incorporates something similar with Twitter & Facebook so that maybe a remake of the Windwaker HD remake could also come out on Switch with the Tingle Bottle functionality (we kind of have something similar with the handwritten messages in Splatoon 2). I love Switch but I also loved my Wii U and the gaming memories I have from that system!

I have a grand total of (give or take) 45 systems going even further back than Atari VCS (aka Atari 2600). So trying to create a list that's truly "exhaustive" for me, would've just been too monumental.

I know the 4th gen and 3rd gen systems would figure very high on that list though. And 4th gen is one of only two gaming generations throughout the entirety of gaming history where Nintendo's entry was not either first or tied for first for me. 5th gen was the other.

Although, there is a difference between them: whereas in the 4th, I was not disappointed with Super Nintendo at all, and thought it was perfectly in keeping with the levels of "Nintendo Awesome" we've come to expect throughout the years, and it was instead, simply [for me] outshined by a very short-lived burst from temporarily even more awesome competition, the N64 in the 5th I actually was a little bit disappointed in, and felt that PS1 filled the gap magnificently.

Anyway, that's neither here nor there, I suppose. I do suppose I should've included WiiU in my list, though, since it is still having stuff made for it.

The trouble is, I don't quite know exactly what to do with it. I know I'd put it ahead of Vita, and behind 3DS, PC, and Switch. Whether I put it ahead of, behind, or alongside the PS4 and XB is where I'm having trouble.

I think in a world without PS4 Pro, or XB1X, I'd put it ahead of, or at least on par with them (probably ahead). However, in a world where there is not only those significantly more powerful versions of the consoles, but also a world where Switch has taken almost all of the WiiU's momentum, I go back to what I said just a moment ago: I don't really know quite what to do with it.

I guess I'd probably put it just behind them, given our current climate. Ask me again 10 minutes, though, and I might've changed my mind again.

The nice thing about this kind of data shows there's such a large base in 9 months time due to the 12/13/17 cut off it's hard to imagine it ever actually failing.

Numbers like that would encourage if not, arm twist psychologically third parties to now more than ever make new works or port the existing to the system hence losing out on potentially millions in units sold on a handheld console that goes anywhere.

WiiU sucked and died like a dog and the support cratered in about the same time to nearly nothing and we saw that result. This is a polar opposite and coming off a belated start by many wary after that crap stank up the Nintendo rep for years.

Even if Nintendo just sustained similar sales year to year they'd have a success they have rarely seen outside of the Wii for a system that works on the TV.

I can't wait until March 3, 2018, the first year's anniversary of Switch, so everyone can have something else to talk about regarding Switch sales and finally stop beating the Wii U dead horse as they have for the last two years.

@TheOpponent I just wanna reach out to all the people on the net who were so loudly and obnoxiously certain that this thing was dead before it launched and was gonna be a spectacular failure - the 'Dreamcast' of Nintendo, I even heard people say - and just say "Hey! How ya doing? Sooooooo, about that whole 'Switch being a miserable failure' thing...."

I'm glad the Switch has outpaced the wii u so we can finally stop talking about the crappy wii u. I like the games on the system but it was easily my least favorite console bar none. Slow OS, nonexistent 3rd party support, muti month long game droughts, spotty online, the list goes on. I'm more than happy to move on from this system. With that said, I'll still keep my wii u as there's a few games that probably will never get ported to the Switch like Kirby Rainbow Curse.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE You know, it's one thing to be ignorant of basic business principles and label them as "greed", but it's quite another to insult developers by claiming that they didn't work hard because they were just porting a game. Development is always difficult. Always. And the people who do it deserve respect, not derision.

The Wii U era will always be special to me. Felt like a time where only Nintendo’s hardest fans stuck around, almost felt Indie to still like Nintendo, with home consoles at least. Still the Switch doing remarkably is impressive and I’m really glad for Nintendo. More great games for us!

The Wii U had some serious faults. But it had some great games too. However I am more than happy that the Switch is doing so well. Honestly, this is what the Wii U should have been. Almost everyone who saw the Wii U wanted to know why they couldn't take the Gamepad with them.

Also the Game pad should have been closer to the Switch in size and physical design and appearance.

@HyruleThe game pad being a tech demo for the switch? How so when the wii u game pad actually provides innovative dual screen game play and so much more that the switch simply cannot do period.

The wii u is its own thing, experiences like Nintendo land, game & Wario, zombiU, just to name a few cannot be replicated on the switch. Unfortunately the wii u Gane pad was barely utilized and only a select handful of games show of its potential

Apples and oranges. The Switch is portable, the Wii U is not. Many households are buying multiple Switches. Of the few households that did buy a Wii U, most did not buy multiple Wii U consoles. Apples and oranges.

@thesilverbrick It's not nice, I agree, but it's really smart if you think about it. Lots of people missed out on it when Nintendo released DK:TF on the Wii U. They either need to buy a Wii U or buy a Switch. Since the Switch has a future, most consumers are willing to pay 60 bucks for this game, unless you have the Wii U ofcourse.

@RainbowGazelleI tell myself the truth. You, on the other hand, should tell yourself that your hyperbole is not reality, and that non-statements like "Sure, you keep telling yourself that" don't make your hyperbole any more real.

@westman98 You stated your opinion, I stated mine. If you find the Switch a totally different experience, then great! I'm glad for you. But in my opinion, it's just the Wii again. I should have answered "that's your opinion" to your previous tweet, because it is all just opinions. There is no one right answer or "reality".

@WaveBoy To me the concept is essentially the same, though executed differently. Yes the Switch cannot be used as a second screen, due to the docking requirement, so games that made use of this feature of the Wii U will obviously not work on the Switch. But both have the following similarities for example:6.2" touchscreen, dual functionality, with the ability to play games remotely, with the same if not similar graphical output.

You can see Nintendo's thinking in that the Switch is the next logical step. Being tethered to a maximum distance from your Wii U, was a great idea but poorly marketed. Being able to actually pick up and take the game with you wherever you go as the Switch allows, is an even better idea and has been deftly marketed. That's simply the way I see it, though you're welcome to disagree.

Who knows what else Nintendo has up their sleeves, no one was expecting the Labo

@Hyrule I agree! Dreamcast was great! I still have mine too! First significant purchase I made as a married man. I still have the same wife too!

I wanted it on launch day (9/9/99 here in the US), but due to payday cycle incompatibility, and lack of better planning ahead, I wasn't able to get it til like 9/14 or 9/15. Hey! Might not be launch day....but it was still launch week, right?

@Saego It’s smart in a super villain kind of way, and Nintendo will “get away with it,” so to speak. Simply porting a completed, five-year-old game to a new popular console and charging more now for it than they did five years ago is just dirty.

@thesilverbrick well, I wouldn't call it 'super evil'. I think the game is worth the 60 bucks, especially since it came out on a underrated game console. It deserves more love. And with love I mean more sales and positive opinions about the game.

@Saego It’s not evil in an absolute sense, but it is shady and fairly inconsistent with everything we have seen in the video game market. Software depreciates in value over time, and subsequent re-makes and re-releases are appropriately less expensive than they were when they first launched. To release DKCTF at a higher price point than it was when it first launched in 2014 is ridiculous and clearly a case of gouging. The game was completed nearly five years ago (barring the minimal addition of Funky Kong), and so development costs are next to nothing. Here’s hoping that what we’ve seen so far is simply a placeholder cost and the game will be priced competitively.

@thesilverbrick Honestly, I can't blame them. Yes, it's more expensive, but then again, we're talking about a succesful game device, while at the time that Nintendo released the Wii U, we knew it was a failure and there were a lot of rumours that Nintendo was working on a new system.

Yes, porting a game to the Switch doesn't cost a lot of resources. But the Wii U version did. Sunken costs and all that kind of stuff.

@WaveBoy Nintendo isn’t “allowing” portable play. Every game on the Switch can be played in handheld mode due to the architecture of the hardware. Nothing special has been added to Tropical Freeze to make that possible. It’s simply a Wii U port with an added character. A port of a game that cost $10 less in 2014.

@Saego Back in 2014 they sold the game at $50, because they likely reasoned development costs were less than most $60 games. There are next to no additional development costs involved in this port and they may be charging more for it than they did four years ago. Even at $40 a pop, every Switch card sold of this game is nearly 100% profit. They put little to no work into this game and are getting paid a premium for it. If you think that’s reasonable or fair to the consumer to charge more for a five-year-old game that’s your prerogative, but this kind of gouging is something unique to Nintendo.

@Agramonte
The Switch outsold the PS4 in October and December 2017 by a solid margin, but the PS4 sold over 2× more than the Switch in November due to the PS4's crazy Black Friday deals. In the end, the PS4 sold more than the Switch in the US during the holiday quarter